September 12

2 Chronicles 21:2-20

2And he had brothers, sons of Jehoshaphat, Azariah, Jehiel, Zechariah, Azariah, Michael, and Shephatiah; all these were sons of Jehoshaphat, king of Israel.

3And their father gave them much silver and gold and things of great value, as well as walled towns in Judah; but the kingdom he gave to Jehoram, because he was the oldest.

4Now when Jehoram had taken his place over his father’s kingdom, and had made his position safe, he put all his brothers to death with the sword, as well as some of the princes of Israel.

5Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king; and he was ruling in Jerusalem for eight years.

6He went in the ways of the kings of Israel, and did as the family of Ahab did, for the daughter of Ahab was his wife; and he did evil in the eyes of the Lord.

7But it was not the Lord’s purpose to send destruction on the family of David, because of the agreement he had made with David, when he said he would give to him and to his sons a light for ever.

8In his time Edom made themselves free from the rule of Judah, and took a king for themselves.

9Then Jehoram went over with his captains and all his war-carriages … made an attack by night on the Edomites, whose forces were all round him … on the captains of the war-carriages.

10So Edom made themselves free from the rule of Judah, to this day: and at the same time Libnah made itself free from his rule; because he was turned away from the Lord, the God of his fathers.

11And more than this, he made high places in the mountains of Judah, teaching the people of Jerusalem to go after false gods, and guiding Judah away from the true way.

12And a letter came to him from Elijah the prophet, saying, The Lord, the God of your father David, says, Because you have not kept to the ways of your father Jehoshaphat or the ways of Asa, king of Judah,

13But have gone in the way of the kings of Israel, and have made Judah and the people of Jerusalem go after false gods, as the family of Ahab did: and because you have put to death your father’s sons, your brothers, who were better than yourself:

14Now, truly, the Lord will send a great destruction on your people and your children and your wives and everything which is yours:

15And you yourself will undergo the cruel pains of a disease in your stomach, so that day by day your inside will be falling out because of the disease.

16Then the Philistines and the Arabians, who are by Ethiopia, were moved by the Lord to make war on Jehoram;

17And they came up against Judah, forcing a way into it, and took away all the goods in the king’s house, as well as his sons and his wives; so that he had no son but only Jehoahaz, the youngest.

18And after all this the Lord sent on him a disease of the stomach from which it was impossible for him to be made well.

19And time went on, and after two years, his inside falling out because of the disease, he came to his death in cruel pain. And his people made no burning for him like the burning made for his fathers.

20He was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he was ruling in Jerusalem for eight years: and at his death he was not regretted; they put his body into the earth in the town of David, but not in the resting-place of the kings.

2 Chronicles 22

1And the people of Jerusalem made Ahaziah, his youngest son, king in his place, for the band of men who came with the Arabians to the army had put all the older sons to death. So Ahaziah, the son of Jehoram, became king.

2Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he was ruling in Jerusalem for one year. His mother’s name was Athaliah, the daughter of Omri.

3He went in the ways of the family of Ahab, for his mother was his teacher in evil-doing.

4And he did evil in the eyes of the Lord, as the family of Ahab did; for after the death of his father they were his guides to his destruction.

5Acting on their suggestion, he went with Jehoram, son of Ahab, king of Israel, to make war on Hazael, king of Aram, at Ramoth-gilead: and Joram was wounded by the bowmen.

6And he went back to Jezreel to get well from the wounds which they had given him at Ramah when he was fighting against Hazael, king of Aram. And Ahaziah, the son of Jehoram, king of Judah, went down to Jezreel to see Jehoram, the son of Ahab, because he was ill.

7Now by the purpose of God, Ahaziah’s journey to see Jehoram was the cause of his downfall: for when he came there, he went out with Jehoram against Jehu, the son of Nimshi, who had been marked out by the Lord for the destruction of the family of Ahab.

8Now when Jehu was effecting the punishment of the family of Ahab, he came to the princes of Judah and the sons of Ahaziah’s brothers, the servants of Ahaziah, and put them to death.

9And he went in search of Ahaziah; and when they came where he was, (for he was in a secret place in Samaria,) they took him to Jehu and put him to death; then they put his body to rest in the earth, for they said, He is the son of Jehoshaphat, whose heart was true to the Lord. So the family of Ahaziah had no power to keep the kingdom.

10Now when Athaliah, the mother of Ahaziah, saw that her son was dead, she had all the rest of the seed of the kingdom of Judah put to death.

11But Jehoshabeath, the daughter of the king, secretly took Joash, the son of Ahaziah, away from among the king’s sons who were put to death, and put him and the woman who took care of him in a bedroom. So Jehoshabeath, the daughter of King Jehoram, the wife of Jehoiada the priest and sister of Ahaziah, kept him safe from Athaliah, so that she did not put him to death.

12And she kept him safe with her in the house of God for six years, while Athaliah was ruling the land.

Psalms 79

A Psalm. Of Asaph.

1 O God, the nations have come into your heritage; they have made your holy Temple unclean; they have made Jerusalem a mass of broken walls.

2They have given the bodies of your servants as food to the birds of the air, and the flesh of your saints to the beasts of the earth.

3Their blood has been flowing like water round about Jerusalem; there was no one to put them in their last resting-place.

4We are looked down on by our neighbours, we are laughed at and made sport of by those who are round us.

5How long, O Lord? will you be angry for ever? will your wrath go on burning like fire?

6Let your wrath be on the nations who have no knowledge of you, and on the kingdoms who have not made prayer to your name.

7For they have taken Jacob for their meat, and made waste his house.

8Do not keep in mind against us the sins of our fathers; let your mercy come to us quickly, for we have been made very low.

9Give us help, O God of our salvation, for the glory of your name; take us out of danger and give us forgiveness for our sins, because of your name.

10Why may the nations say, Where is their God? Let payment for the blood of your servants be made openly among the nations before our eyes.

11Let the cry of the prisoner come before you; with your strong arm make free the children of death;

12And give punishment seven times over into the breast of our neighbours for the bitter words which they have said against you, O Lord.

13So we your people, and the sheep of your flock, will give you glory for ever: we will go on praising you through all generations.

John 14:15-31

15If you have love for me, you will keep my laws.

16And I will make prayer to the Father and he will give you another Helper to be with you for ever,

17Even the Spirit of true knowledge. That Spirit the world is not able to take to its heart because it sees him not and has no knowledge of him: but you have knowledge of him, because he is ever with you and will be in you.

18I will not let you be without a friend: I am coming to you.

19A little time longer, and the world will see me no more; but you will see me; and you will be living because I am living.

20At that time it will be clear to you that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I in you.

21He who has my laws and keeps them, he it is who has love for me: and he who has love for me will be loved by my Father, and I will have love for him and will let myself be seen clearly by him.

22Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, How is it that you will let yourself be seen clearly by us and not by the world?

23Jesus said to him in answer, If anyone has love for me, he will keep my words: and he will be dear to my Father; and we will come to him and make our living-place with him.

24He who has no love for me does not keep my words; and the word which you are hearing is not my word but the Father’s who sent me.

25I have said all this to you while I am still with you.

26But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will be your teacher in all things and will put you in mind of everything I have said to you.

27May peace be with you; my peace I give to you: I give it not as the world gives. Let not your heart be troubled; let it be without fear.

28Keep in mind how I said to you, I go away and come to you again. If you had love for me you would be glad, because I am going to the Father: for the Father is greater than I.

29And now I have given you word of it before it comes, so that, when it comes, you may have faith.

30After this I will not say much to you, because the ruler of this world comes: and he has no power over me;

31But he comes so that the world may see that I have love for the Father, and that I am doing as I am ordered by the Father. Get up, and let us go.